Individuals with arm or shoulder problems must devise ways to dress which involve little or no motion of the upper torso. In addition, individuals who must keep their arm in a sling or cast may have difficulty dressing, especially if they live alone. Sliding clothing over a sling or cast is awkward and dangerous. Even individuals who have someone to help them to dress must frequently devise slow and tedious processes for getting into and out of conventional clothing.
Even a visit to the physician can become arduous, as removing a shirt so that the doctor can examine the arm and shoulder area can aggravate injury. Since the arm area may be sensitive, pulling a shirt over the patient's head or sliding the arm through a sleeve may be painful.
There exists no reliable means for patients with arm and shoulder problems to remove a shirt without assistance. Furthermore, there exists no effective means for patients with arm and shoulder problems to allow easy access to an injured area for a doctor's examination.
Much of the prior art is designed for wear only in a hospital setting, such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,964,173, issued to Gordon et al. on Oct. 23, 1990, U.S. Pat. No. 4,055,855, issued to Ragone et al. on Nov. 1, 1977, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,133,086, issued to Truitt et al. on Jul. 28, 1992. These garments are often long enough to cover the entire body and do not look appropriate for public wear, due to their material and their insufficient fastening means.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,116,491, issued to R. E. Previdi et al. on Jan. 7, 1964, is a maternity blouse which uses snaps to change front panels of different sizes as the pregnancy progresses.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,564,123, issued to Grassick on Oct. 15, 1996, uses a hook and loop fastening method, such as Velcro, to close the shirt. Such a closure system may pull open too easily for public wear. Additionally, Velcro can be abrasive to the skin, especially if worn for long periods of time.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,564,126, issued to Chou on Oct. 15, 1996, U.S. Pat. No. 5,553,323, issued to Chou et al., and UK Patent No. 2,267,022 A, issued to Chou et al. on Nov. 24, 1993, involve long sleeved shirts which are difficult, sometimes impossible, to fit over a cast. These patents are designed for paralytic patients, and as a result, unzip down each side for complete removal. This unnecessary zipping may be difficult with one arm.
Therefore, a need has been established for a novel apparatus which can provide easy access to an arm or shoulder patient's injured area during a doctor's examination. Moreover, there is a need for a convenient method for such patients to put on and remove their own shirts without further aggravating the injured area.
It is an object of the present invention to create a shirt which arm and shoulder patients can put on and remove easily with one hand.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an apparatus allowing reliable access to the arm and shoulder area without requiring the patient to remove his or her shirt.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a shirt which can be put on and removed without causing pain to an injured arm or shoulder.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a shirt which is suitable to be worn in public.